K. O. N. T. U. R

The Observer entity—its function is to indicate that an object is infected. Since the circuit lacks equipment to track the O-41 fungus and cannot predict where the infection will occur, cameras are installed in the objects being monitored to check for the presence of an Observer. The Observer is a tall, black creature, dressed in floor-length black clothing with white buttons, and has white eyes. The Observer appears for up to five seconds and then disappears. If you encounter a Observer, you must focus solely on it, otherwise it is 100% fatal; it appears with a 10% chance of appearing. The Observer is a signal that everyone has missed all protocols and the object is already in the final stages of infection and simulation; it can reset the simulation. It is not a fast messenger.

Herald functions: A Herald isn't just another creature; a Herald is the most valuable asset K.O.N.T.U.R. has a 5% to 12% chance of appearing, and with a Herald, you can change the character of a future simulation. Heralds appear on camera for only 1-2 seconds, but there was an exception with a girl named Olya—she told her father, smiling, that she was playing with her white friend in the hallway. Afterward, her father filmed the Herald in the dark hallway, and it didn't disappear. This is one of K.O.N.T.U.R.'s most valuable video archives, as nothing else is known about the Heralds. A Herald is a warning sign that the object has already begun infection and simulation. The Herald only teleports.

Entities cannot all appear at once in one object or apartment; certain stages of infestation have their own entities:

1. nothing special, just slightly blackened corners and difficult to clean windows, easy to clean - parasites or small molds appear.
2. It is already noticeable that the wallpaper and baseboard with the ceiling are infected, a strong smell of spores appears, insects avoid, pulsation is heard at night - a messenger, large lesions, glass beads.
3. neighbors smell something and knock and sound the alarm, the wallpaper and baseboards are full of little bullets, as if someone is breathing under them - a mimic (copies a person), beeping, a gap, many anomalies, there is a chance of a sewer creature appearing in the entrance.

Infected people often eat concrete or anything hard during the second or third stages of infection. The creatures feed more on the victim's fear than on the victim themselves. New creatures: The Herald is a tall white creature, dressed in something white down to the floor, with black eyes and a black, wide-open mouth. It appears in the apartment when it is already sufficiently infected. It can be seen on cameras or with the human eye, but disappears when noticed. Fungal anomalies are animated objects and other anomalies on objects. These could be mouths on the wall, a face in an electric meter, a silhouette in a doormat, a fake animal on a rug, or distorted portraits or paintings. Elvish are large creatures (but extremely rare), sometimes larger than a multi-story building, black, and composed of numerous large tentacles. The only way to defeat them is to reach their center and douse them with vinegar. Elvish have great sensitivity and loud roars, but are slow due to their size. Sometimes, their structure can resemble a humanoid.

Sinkholes are common inhabitants of infected sites; they are usually harmless and simply mimic the color of the wall. Some infected people or animals may be more conscious and less aggressive. But there are also intelligent survivors who can, without provocation, enter a psychotic state.

The story takes place in the USSR, so the technology is still mundane, but K.O.N.T.U.R. has managed to advance chemical technology somewhat. A new, unnamed drug has emerged, created by the alchemist Sergei Pavlovich at an experimental center. This drug can stop the infection and the destruction of the infected person's personality during the first and second stages of infection. A sealed protective suit has been created for infected patients whose limbs have already elongated. The suit is placed on the patient, and with this drug, the subject stops progressing. The O-41 fungus also evolved—a spore-forming substrate appeared, appearing as a black, oily liquid. If dislodged, it produces severe mutations. The substrate should not be touched or drunk, or even occasionally smelled if the odor is too strong. O-41-infected individuals have emerged—they can appear as small, black substances with a density similar to that of earth. The substrate can easily be found in food products, but it should not be eaten or drunk; it is best to eat only dry food. Infected individuals have become more communicative, able to answer questions from their own perspective, rather than from the fungus in their brain. K.O.N.T.U.R.A. centers always look like emergency blue hospitals with hidden experimental basements, or like emergency departments. New entities: Proval is an entity that disguises itself as the interior of an inhabited apartment and operates only at night. Unknown - a creature as tall as the ceiling, completely black, has up to 6 outstretched arms, sometimes 4, it appears at the end of the corridor in new observed objects (apartments), K. O. N. T. U. R observed the creature only 2 times. Everyone acts on the principle of saving each other. Neighbors are always ready to help or shelter, and if they notice anything strange, they immediately call the emergency services. K.O.N.T.U.R. is ready to shelter people who have lost their apartments and help them find housing. Everyone is scared and kind, because no one wants O-41 to spread further. The organization has even created educational cartoons for children in this nightmare, which are shown on television.

K.O.N.T.U.R. is not a military army in its purest form, but rather a state corporation for dealing with the apocalypse. Hierarchy: There is a central office (the Council of Ministers) and regional branches. For example, the Chelyabinsk branch handled the case of a teacher. · Staff: · Heavy Groups: Assault squads to eliminate breakthroughs. · Protocol Operators: Technicians who sit in concierge booths or headquarters, monitoring cameras and maintaining records (they are often the first to be targeted). Training Facilities: The organization uses infested buildings to train new recruits. One of the prefabricated buildings is designated a "Training Facility." Recruits are sent into areas where all types of threats are present (Snout, Mimics, Skinners, and Worms on the 6th floor) and tested to see if they can survive while adhering to protocol. The organization has specific means of struggle: Iodine-Resorcinol-A Solution: A chemical compound with a pungent odor that is repulsive to those infected. It is used to treat the walls of sewers and basements to inhibit the spread of fungus. · Sporinol: A drug (presumably an anti-spore drug) found in packs in the lairs of the infected, who drag it there in an attempt to dull the pain of transformation. Rope: Lifeline. The instructions for fighting the Queue entity say to secure the rope at a right angle to the window. The Queue, being a heavy "centipede," cannot bend over a 90-degree edge. The rope is the only way to escape the ring of closing bodies. Rules of Survival (Summary) To survive in the world of K.O.N.T.U.R., you need to learn:

1. Don't look in mirrors (Glass Beads will appear).
2. If you see a queue, stand at the end and move with them, do not look at the backs of the heads of those standing in front for more than 10 seconds.
3. If the teacher starts making loops and bulging his eyes during class, call the emergency services and don't be left alone with him (the "Anxiety" syndrome is activated by a look).
4. Don't bypass the Hoot - it's a trap that leads deeper.

The fungus affects not only buildings but also people. The process of human transformation is called spore syndrome. Stages of human infection:

1. Behavioral changes: The person becomes strange.
2. Physiological changes: Sudden weight loss, vacant stare. Key symptoms include an unnatural smile and exophthalmos. Sharp swings from apathy to hysterical laughter are noted.
3. Aggression: This is the moment when the infected person realizes they've been noticed by normal people. They experience a sudden surge of anxiety and targeted aggression. They don't just hunt—they panic and attack the bystander.
4. Outcome: The infected person goes to live in the wall. Evgeny disappeared from the apartment after his breakdown. Types of infected creatures: Inside the simulation live not just sick people, but Entities – the offspring of the fungus.
5. Skinners: These are likely humans in the late stages of merging with the fungus. They form entire zones in basements, a kind of incubator.
6. Glass Beads: Entities that live in mirrors. You can't look into mirrors.
7. The Snout: An entity that appears on CCTV cameras at a specific time. It can be driven away by closing a special door in the building's entrance.
8. Mimics: Entities that disguise themselves as objects or people. Found on random floors.
9. Gabar: Filler Hunter. Appears as an elongated figure with tentacles. Appears in areas where there has been a lot of child activity, feeding on emotions.
10. Queue: A collective entity. This is a group of people stitched together by a fungus into a living chain. They move in sync. It is dangerous to try to overtake them or break them apart.
11. The Beep: A trap-like entity that constructs its body from old telephones. It uses the sound of a beep to lure people deeper into the simulation.
12. The Sewer Beast is a 4-meter-tall, bony, and completely black entity with elongated limbs, black hair, a wide mouth, and three white eyes. It primarily growls and moves on all fours, is fast and strong, and loses interest in anything that doesn't move. It hates vinegar.

If a person enters an Anomalous Object (or even just an infected apartment), the fungus creates a Simulation. This is a key concept of the universe.

· Mechanism: The simulation is an anomalous, distorted copy of a real place. It uses the building's memories and cultural code to create a believable environment. Goal: To lure the person deeper. The further you move from the real entrance, the deeper you fall into the simulation. · Simulation weapon: Entities are born inside it, there are endless labyrinths. Each simulation has its own survival instructions; without them, a person will either die immediately or become part of the fungal environment or system. The fungus feeds on energy from the host, the brains of humans and animals, and other biomaterials it finds pleasing, but it is also known to prefer glucose or other sweets. Infected people or animals seek out food containing fungal particles. The best weapons against the fungus are vinegar, which is distributed to all citizens once a week, chemicals, service weapons, or chemical gas. Infected people are kept in quarantine hospitals, where they attempt to somehow cure them of the fungus.

The main antagonist of this world is the O-41 fungus. It's not just a mold, it's an intelligent pathogen with a will. Material contamination: O-41 can penetrate inorganic structures such as concrete, treated wood, asphalt, and steel. Think of it as rust that thinks and grows at the speed of a fire. · Articulation: When the fungus completely takes over a building (an abandoned research institute, a residential building, a hospital), the process of "Articulation" begins. The building ceases to be just a pile of stones. It becomes an "Anomalous Object"—a single living organism, where the walls breathe spores and the layout changes minute by minute. The fungus also likes to spread small parts to infect people, animals, and structures, in addition to grounding—small balls that can look like intertwined purple tendrils, a floating gray cloud, a black speck, or slime that independently selects a target or a place to latch on. The fungus can attack in various ways—airborne, through contaminated food/objects/medications, or infected people, settling on surfaces, and other means. Within a couple of days, the fungus takes over a person's body and mind, devouring their brain and distorting DNA and cells. This is why those infected are very creepy and are no longer human, but part of the fungus's system. The fungus is capable of creating simulations.

The history of the world begins in the depths of the Cold War. In 197█, at the secret research base ██████-█, an incident occurred that forever changed reality—contamination with O-41 material. This was no ordinary biological experiment. O-41 (a fungus, mold, or substance) exhibited properties that defied the laws of physics: it penetrated concrete and steel not like corrosion, but as a kind of material transition. To contain the threat and prevent collapse, in 1978, the Special Council of Ministers of the USSR founded the organization K.O.N.T.U.R. Its mission: to conceal, study, and attempt to eliminate the consequences of contact with O-41, operating in complete secrecy from the civilian population. Now the cities of Taman-27 and Barkhan-9 are fighting against a biological monster that is viciously attacking all living and nonliving things.